Welsh midfielder Joe Allen has joined Liverpool for a transfer fee rumored to be £15million.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has signed the talented 22-year old attacking midfielder after a series of prolonged negotiations including an initial failed £12 million bid plus Jonjo Shelvey. Allen, who is a Welsh international with 8 caps, has incredible composure in midfield. Plus, he’s a gifted passer of the ball and he certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

At Liverpool, he will fit right in to midfield — probably displacing Charlie Adam to a more minor role, and perhaps even signaling a departure for the Scot on to pastures new.

While Liverpool has acquired an wonderfully gifted footballer who will fit right in at Liverpool, here are 5 reasons why Swansea supporters should be optimistic about the Joe Allen departure:

1. The £15million fee smashes Swansea’s previous record for the highest transfer fee received. It may be hard for some to believe, but Swansea’s previous record for the highest transfer fee received was just £2million for Jason Scotland when Wigan signed him in June 2009.

How much did Joe Allen cost Swansea? Zero. He’s a local footballer who Swansea signed at the age of 9. For Swansea, who has a superb youth academy with plenty of local prospects moving through the ranks, this represents the best business deal in the history of the club.

2. Swansea has received £20million from Liverpool in just three months. I’d argue that Brendan Rodgers leaving Swansea has been a brilliant business move for the Swans. In just three short months, Swansea has received £20million from Liverpool for the compensation fee to let Rodgers move to Anfield, as well as today’s Joe Allen transfer. Plus, Swansea was able to sign Michael Laudrup as their new manager, a legend in world soccer who will fit right in at the Liberty.

If Swansea stays up in the Premier League next season, the club is planning an expansion of Liberty Stadium from the current 20,000 capacity to 32,000. The cost for the expansion? £15million. Thank you Liverpool!

3. Swansea already has a replacement for Joe Allen. Quietly over this summer, Swansea signed two footballers — both of whom are worthy replacements for Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson. New signings Jonathan de Guzman (from Villarreal) and Michu (from Rayo Vallecano) are brilliant footballers. De Guzman has joined Swansea on a season-long loan, while Michu is one of the steals of the summer, costing the Swans just £2million — a bargain given his talent and his proven goalscoring form in Spain.

Up front for Swansea, potential new loan signing Itay Schechter will make his Swansea debut tomorrow as striker against Stuttgart in a preseason friendly.

4. Swansea has moved into a new tier as a football team. By commanding a transfer fee of eight digits, Swansea has now moved into a new tier as a football club, one that is able to show that it is in a position of power in negotiations. The club is financially very stable and is not in a position where it has to sell players to get out of debt. The £15million transfer fee received for Joe Allen sets a precedent at Swansea where future negotiations for players of similar age and skill can command similar wages, depending on market conditions.

5. It’s a deal that’s too good to pass up. Swansea was in a position where they didn’t have to sell Joe Allen, but when a larger club comes in offering a fee almost ten times as much as the previous transfer fee received, it’s hard to pass on the opportunity.

Given Swansea’s expertise in the transfer market, the club could buy several players with the £15million it received for Joe Allen. While I doubt the Swans will go on a spending spree, it does open up the opportunity of breaking their own record transfer fee paid of just £3.5million for Danny Graham last summer.

While critics will argue that Swansea’s chances of survival in the Premier League next season will be hurt by the loss of Joe Allen, I disagree. We’ll certainly miss the brilliant midfielder, but the club is bigger than any player and it will move on and improve. I have no doubt that Swansea will stay up next season. The club has a system and enough talent to beat many of the other clubs in the league. I believe in the system, and I believe in Swansea City. Joe Allen will go on to do great things with Liverpool, and will probably win silverware at Anfield that he wouldn’t be able to achieve in Wales. I wish him the best of luck, and hope he thrives on Merseyside.

About The Author

Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

44 Comments

RyanAugust 10, 2012

As a Liverpool supporter, I feel like we may have really overpaid for the guy, so congrats to Swan supporters. It’s obvious he fits in Rodger’s scheme, so my question is this – if you agree we overpaid, how much is he REALLY worth? Just curious to get some opinions.

I can’t see how Liverpool with dithering over Dempsey’s price tag but then drop 15 mil for Joe Allen. Yeah, he’s younger and yeah he probably fits in better with the plan across Stanley park, but those two don’t seem to make up for the massive overvaluing.

Reportedly Fulham wants 10 mil for Dempsey. Would I pay THAT for Joe Allen? No. He was a key player at Swansea and clearly has some talent, but I wouldn’t pay more than 5 mil for him. Chelsea paid 7 million for Marko Marin!

A bit harsh Alex, 5 mn is too low for a 22 years old with quality (definitely some) & probably a Home Grown. Allen was tied for a long term contract while Marin was almost at the end of existing one. I think we over paid double, i. e. 7 mn or so, but that’s the standard of LFC oblate.

It’s hard to accept to a toffee, but we paid 3 times for a donkey, 2.5 times for a clown, 2 times for a mannequin & 1.5 times for a tortoise. & paying 2 times salary to a “false” Messi. Proud to be Brit – YWNA.

In all seriousness this shows how crap the top clubs are at developing homegrown talent. When I was growing players from the lower divisions that excelled would be snapped up by the top clubs without having played in the higher league. Bould, Dixon, Beagrie, Bracewell, Heath etc from my own club. Nowadays they need somebody else to take the risk either because they deserve the chance, or because they do their shopping in a different market. It’ll be interesting to see of Lambert and Rodgers are able to remain creative in their signings or they’re pressured to make marquee signings. I really can’t see Liverpool signing Allen if Rodgers wasn’t manager.

I agree with most of this except the part about replacements. If you compare how much they made off the Allen sale and how little the two players cost it is a good deal, but in footballing terms they are clearly inferior players.

Good deal for Swansea if you ask me. Is he worth 15m I have no clue but I’m not a big fan of a new manager going back to his previous club for players especially when he’s supposedly stepping up a level in clubs.

Gaffer has any of the other top teams showed any interest in Allan before at any point? I’d imagine if he was as good as Rodgers thinks other top teams would have been keeping a eye on him.

I’m a little concerned that Liverpool overpaid, but it’s not the shocking numbers of last year. Also, Rodgers managed Allen last year, so this isn’t like Dalglish who wasn’t around the players that he brought in. I’m going to give Rodgers the benefit of the doubt that this is a good move and a player worthy of the price tag.

But what does this mean for Shelvey? Another loan? He looked quite comfortable yesterday. I’d hate to see him wasting away on the bench.

I think your 2nd sentence is certainly the key. Rodgers isn’t guessing or hoping. He knows exactly what Allen can do and feels his talents will make Liverpool stronger. Personally, I like the move. At this point no one actually knows Allen’s value. By mid season he may be classified a “steal”. As always, results will tell.

Swansea are definitely the big winners here. While Allen is a decent player and young he is probably worth 8-10 million. The fact that Liverpool paid 15 million says that Rodgers was desperate to bring in someone who understands his system because he does not rate Adam, Henderson or Shelvey. Also Allen will cost 45,000 pounds a week which is lower than what Liverpool would have to pay for better talent who may cost less in transfer fees. Adam and Henderson each make more than that.

Liverpool will be selling some players at a huge loss mostly because most of the players are on huge wages that other clubs don’t want to inherit. Liverpool may have to pay some of their wages as they are doing with Aquilani, paying half his wages. With such losses it is easy to see why they are so eager to sell Carroll or Agger. Since Carroll does not want to leave, at least till now, it means Agger may be the one sold to generate funds.

Couldn’t care about the money,it’s not me paying it. As a Liverpool fan the 15million is more than covered by the players sold and wages saved,aquillani,maxi,aurellio,kuyt,were all on a decent wage…you add these numbers up yearly and that 15million isn’t that much of an outlay.
Rodgers knows Allen well of course and he will fit perfectly into the system now being used at Liverpool. He will sit alongside Lucas and we now have 2 players ideal for the system. now we need 1 more player to go up alongside suarez and borini…hopefully gastion ramierz and you have a really top side.

As I said before Liverpool sold Aquilani at a huge loss and to add they are paying half his wages for the next 3 years. Those are the kinds of deals Liverpool will end up with if they want to get rid of the likes of Henderson and company who cost a lot and are on between 50,000 to 80,000 a week. Joe Cole was a free transfer but is making 100,000 a week. When he was loaned to Lille Liverpool paid part of his wages.

Until Liverpool can fully free themselves of these palyers they won’t have the resources to spend on other targets. The owners are aware of the situation and that is why they are not saying that Liverpool must finish in the top 4. It will be at least a couple of years before Liverpool get to challenge for the top 4. Then again, like Newcastle surprising everyone last season one can never say if Liverpool can surprise this season. Should be interesting.

Also regarding shelvey…a decent prospect yes,but is far too inconsistent on the ball
for the system Rodgers have implimented at Anfield. The others nights game was a great example of this,he look decent on occasion and full of confidence but his short passing and tackling let him down. Jonjo is better suited and will be used as a back up to Stevie gerrard .I now see the following….
Reina (jones)
Johnson(kelly)
Enrique(Robertson,flanno)
Agger (Coates)
Skrtel(carra/Kelly)
Lucas(spearing)
Allen(Henderson,Adam)
Gerrard(shelvey,Cole,Henderson)
Borini(downing,suarez)
Suarez(caroll,Morgan)
Downing(Pacheco,sterling)

Suarez can of course go right and left side of the striker,as can Pacheco,downing and sterling.

For the first 11…which with Rodgers there consistently will be,we really do lack a first team ready creator alongside Suarez and Borini…..hence the bids for Dempsey and Ramirez. I’d much rather Ramirez…we get him and that really is a perfectly balanced,exciting quality first 11.

Rodgers plays tiki taka football. Playmaker is the core of this system, it’s like what Xavi does in barca.

Allen and Xavi have a one similarity, high passing rate, over 90% success rate. Of course I don’t say Allen is as good as Xavi but without Allen, Rodgers couldn’t apply his football to the club.

Apart from high passing rate, Allen seldom give the ball away even under high pressure, this is very important for possession football, hold the ball well like Spanish player. He is definitely not a replacement for Gerrard, he is more like Alonso replacement.

Overprice or not? To be fair Pls judge him after seeing his game with Liverpool shirt. 15m is a good value if he could be the core of Liverpool future.

I see we have successfully reduced our high wages by off loading Aquilani, Maxi, Kuyt, Bellamy could save us aprox 20m per year. With new signing at 45k per week, I believe we r back to healthy level.

15mil seems awfully high all things considered. Seems more like another over-priced Liverpool endeavor similar to Carroll. Though I think Allen will end up working out better than Carroll, still seems like they should have paid a lot less, and for somebody so young and unproven. That’s todays market though I guess. Best of luck to him!

I don’t think he was overpriced, and over the course of his career the price will definitely be justified. Anyone who’s seen this kid play regularly would know how talented he is but the best part is he’s only 22!! He might be British but his game is completely opposite to the typical British player. He’s the new breed of player along the lines of Ramsey and Wilshere.

His main role will be the link between defense and attack, the bridge between Lucas and Gerrard. What makes him so pivotal to this role is his ability to keep a hold of the ball and play the simple pass. It might sound simple but only a few players can actually execute it.

Comparing him to the likes of Adam and Henderson is just plain silly. He’s a completely different player and a lot more accomplished. People are laughing at the fact that he was signed for 15 million, but I personally think it’s going to be Liverpool who will be laughing as he establishes himself in the team and grows into the role.

Rodger’s is going after a completely different breed of player compared to Dalglish. He’s targeting players that have excellent movement, can press at the right time and fit into the passing style. The fact that he’s already pushed Gerrard higher up the pitch behind Suarez gets a massive Kudos from me. Gerrard’s best seasons were when he linked up with Torres. When Rafa left that plan also disappeared with Roy and Kenny pulling him back into the center. No doubt Gerrard can play in the middle but he performs best when pushed into the hole, he can kill teams from there.

Liverpool are definitely a work in progress and it will take them a couple of seasons to get back into the CL spots. But the rest of the competition should be warned. They have a manager again who makes decisions based on common sense and you know what they say, common sense is not that common at all. My bet is on this team to surprise a LOT of people this year. Established defense (one of the least goals allowed last year) and now a manager who’s sorting out the midfield. Young hungry and technically gifted players being brought in, they could do a lot of damage if things click right away.

Nice points ff, makes lot of sense. Last year KD purchased players on their name (& passport), without having a solid plan of strategy, combination & formation. Several times players bought to complement each other were rather replaced by each other & players were played at wrong position, in a wrong formation. I think, BR knows what he is looking for & collecting players according to his style, therefore there is very little chance for a massive transfer disaster. Also, he hasn’t gone for crazy prices like 35mn or 20mn. He probably ‘ll go for another couple of purchase this window – Ramirez to cover Downing & Dempsey to cover SG & second forward.

However, I believe this is not the last business for him; FSG hasn’t net spent much (At best 75mn so far) & they have money to burn, at least in Baseball they never backed off big money quality signings. I think, without CL football, without paying crazy money, we can’t get top talents. Last year we did spend crazy money, but mostly wasted & obviously FSG is much careful this time. BR is building a team with players whom he knows & at a right price. I was happy that he wasn’t ransomed by Sigurdsson – he could have easily payed few quids more per week, but that would have set a wrong example.

This is already a very good squad with 6/7 world class players (Raina, Johnson, Agger, SG, Lucas & Suarez are good enough to start for any club in world & Skartel is not far behind). I think, with either or both of Dempsey & Ramirez ‘ll take us to at per with Spurs or even better. Add 1/2 more quality players with this squad in January & we ‘ll have a CL fight surely. Apart from Joe Cole, our wage structure is much better now & with Carra & Cole leaving next year it ‘ll be even better. If we can qualify for CL this year, I am sure FGS ‘ll spend big next July to bring a couple of marque signings.

We are in a much better situation than what we had been at the start of 2012.

I’ve commented on this site before saying Swansea should be laughing with Brendan & Allen going to Liverpool for so much money but the amount of change at the Liberty this summer has to be concerning. I know Huw Jenkins has a history of picking the right manager but anything can happen with a new man in charge. The dramatic change in the squad also has to be concerning. Caulker, Allen, Sinclair and Sigurdsson were arguably the best 4 Swans players last season and who knows how some of their replacements will play in the premier league. Going into next season Swansea are a complete unknown for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished dead last and wouldn’t be surprised if they finish top 8. I hope they do stay up and Cardiff get promoted. A Wales derby in the premier league would be bloody brilliant.

I disagree that Caulker, Allen, Sinclair and Sigurdsson were Swansea’s 4 best players last season. Sigurdsson, absolutely yes. But I would argue that the three other best players on Swansea’s team last season were Leon Britton, Michel Vorm and Danny Graham.

I completely disagree. There’s a reason why those 4 will be stepping up next season to a better side whilst players like Britton and Graham will be staying at the swans. As for Routledge replacing Sinclair, Routledge is a step down in my opinion.

I like Scott Sinclair as a player, but he was better in the 2009-10 season when he helped the Swans get promoted to the Premier League than he was in the 2010-11 season where he drifted in and out of games.

Wayne Routledge is more of a direct player. Routledge can drift in and out of games, but if Sinclair did leave, I’d be happy with Routledge stepping up. Having said that, Swansea would need to sign cover for Routledge in case he’s injured.

I agree that the replacements do have the potential to do extremely well, but you never know how players are going to adjust and play in the premier league, which makes Swansea an unknown force this season. As far as your statistics go, they’re irrelevant for many reasons – they play in different leagues, the Guzman stats are from a season ago (This past season he played 20 times 0 goals and got relegated!), you’ve included the last 5 years of Allen’s career stats despite him only being at the highest level this past season (his best season by a mile).

Flores was in La Barca Liga not the Premier ship do the physicality of the the midfieled and forwards will be different. As for sig, the ratio is the same but again, sig did it in the premiership where the league is a much higher standard than La Madrid Liga.

Your hopes are that of a true fan and who can blame you, but not objective.

Sigurdsson wasn’t a regular for a mid-table Bundesliga team and did well in the EPL…so you never know. Michu did well enough to get some Spain NT talk, he didn’t get called up but he single handedly helped Vallecano survive last season

Dust, it’s hard, but I’m trying to be as objective as possible instead of being a fan boy.

Last summer, everyone was predicting Swansea would get relegated. Last August I predicted that Swansea would finish in 14th position — and people thought I was nuts. My opinions are expressed based on the knowledge I have about the team, who I watch week-in week-out.

Just in response to everyone who still seems to be on the “Liverpool is still overspending and wasting money” train, it seems that you are all putting way too much weight into transfer fees and not enough into wage fees. So far this summer, we’ve let go of:

Kuyt: 1 million pounds received, 85,000/wk off the bill.
Maxi: Free Transfer, 90,000/wk off the bill.
Aquilani: 4 million pounds received, 70,000/wk off the bill. The amount we paid the player to leave cancels out the 4 million pound fee
Bellamy: Free Transfer, 90,000/wk off the bill
Aurelio: Free Transfer, 40,000/wk off the bill
All Academy/Reserves exits: Rough estimate around 20,000/wk off the bill (Check the list of players who left and you’ll see that number start to make sense).

With Aquilani’s transfer fee pretty well cancelled out by what we paid him, Liverpool nets 1 million pounds in fees received, and 395,000/wk off the bill, which equals 20,540,000 pounds over the year, for a total of 21,540,000 pounds taken in.

We’ve brought in:

Borini: 11 million pounds spent, 30,000/wk to the bill
Allen: 15 million pounds spent, 45,000/wk to the bill

26 million pounds spent on transfers, 75,000/wk added to the bill, or 3,900,000 for the year, and a total of 29,900,000 spent for the year.

That means that so far in this transfer period, we’ve spent 8,360,000, resulting in the loss of 5 over-paid, old players who do not fit into Rodgers’ first team plans in exchange for two very good young players on terrific wages, and do fit into his first team plans.

And I realize that there are a few variables here and there that can make MINOR changes to that number, so don’t bother correcting my math if that’s all you have in response. If you want to debate it, argue my point, not the figures.

The fact that Liverpool have been overpaying in both transfers and wages and now seem to be cutting the bill does not mean they are not still overpaying. You need to look at each case individually. How many clubs would have paid 15 million plus 2 million sign-on bonus and pay 45,000 a week for Allen? He is a decent player but right now he is not worth that. As for buying for the future wasn’t that what Daglish did in buying Carroll and Henderson? How did that work out?

What’s wrong with 45,000 a week for Allen? Those are fantastic wages from the club’s perspective for a player of his ability. To compare him to Sigurdsson, the other one that Swansea let get away, Tottenham is reportedly paying him 75,000. Same age.